
As the woman denies the charges against her, one of the teen children testifies about their alleged mistreatment -- claiming forced labor, months without showering, and pepper spray.
Jeanne Whitefeather has denied locking two of her five adopted children in a shed -- despite authorities finding the teens in one back in October 2023.
The woman and her husband, Donald Lantz, have been accused of adopting Black children they then forced to do manual labor, while living in horrifying conditions. The pair were charged with human trafficking, child neglect, use of a minor child in forced labor, civil rights violations based on color, race, and/or ancestry, child neglect creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death, and falsifying an application seeking a public defender.

Both Whitefeather and Lantz are white; all five adopted children are Black. At the time of their arraignment, Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers said the children "were targeted because of their race and they were used basically as slaves from what the indictment alleges."
Taking the stand on Tuesday, per AP, Whitefeather said the shed was a "teenage hangout."
"They weren't locked in. They had a key. They could come and go as they pleased," she also claimed during her testimony. A detective previously testified the key was found on top of a cabinet in the shed, out of sight.

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View StoryAdopted Daughter Testifies
Whitefeather's testimony comes after the couple's oldest adopted children took the stand last week. The 18-year-old, who has not been named publicly and was 16 at the time of her parents' arrests, was one of the two children found by authorities in the shed.
She claimed, per AP, the kids were given a diet of peanut butter sandwiches, which came at scheduled times, and weren't allowed to eat between feedings.
She also reportedly said they weren't given water unless they finished their meals, had to sleep on the floor, and went months without showering or brushing their teeth.

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View StoryThe teen said they were forced to garden, dig holes with their hands, clear land and take care of animals on the farm. She also testified that Lantz hit one of the children with a PVC pipe, and claimed they were made to stand in their room for hours -- saying they would have pepper spray used on them if they didn't keep their hands on their heads.
She also said the shed where she and her then-14-year-old brother slept required a key to open it from either side. The teen claimed she and her brother shared the same bucket to use as a bathroom and said that, at one point, all the children had to sleep in tents outside because Whitefeather said "we were dirty and that we stunk."
The teen claimed she didn't know there was a key inside the shed with them.

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View StoryDetails of Lantz & Whitefeather's Arrest
The investigation into the pair began in October 2023, after someone called authorities concerned about the welfare of the children
Per the criminal complaint, a deputy knocked on the door of a shed on the property before a 16-year-old girl inside said she couldn't open it. Authorities then forced themselves into the 20 feet x 14 feet structure and found both the girl and a 14-year-old boy, her brother, inside.
The girl allegedly said they had been locked in the shed -- which had no running water, lights or bathroom -- for about 12 hours without any contact from their adoptive parents, who had brought them food earlier in the morning.

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View StoryShe reportedly claimed the two were "locked in the shed for long periods of time daily" and "were being punished," with Law&Crime reporting that one of the children told authorities they made and shared a makeshift toilet crafted from a toilet seat taken from an RV. Authorities also noted the boy appeared to have "open sores" on his feet, while both children allegedly smelled of body odor and were in dirty clothing.
They also found a 9-year-old girl in an unprotected loft 15-feet off from the ground, crying alone, inside the couple's main home. Police waiting at the property say Lantz eventually showed up with another child three hours later.
The children were placed with Child Protective Services.
